Joan Laporta's inappropriate "Joke" stirs controversy on Barcelona election day

While Barcelona members elected Joan Laporta as club president on Sunday, the 58-year-old grabbed headlines for all the wrong reasons on social media. Only hours before Laporta was announced as Josep Maria Bartomeu's successor, a video clip on social media was doing the rounds, in which the Catalan appeared to ask a "nena" (Catalan for "young girl") to call him when she turns 18, despite being surrounded by the media. While some viewers were left shocked at the blatant remarks made by Laporta in public, the young girl in the video later clarified that the newly-appointed Barca president was, in fact, sharing a joke with her.

ALSO READ: Liverpool Vs Fulham: Plane Unfurls Banner With Message Of Strength Over Anfield

Fans on social media rage over inappropriate Joan Laporta joke with "nena"

On Sunday, just a few hours before the next Barcelona president was announced, a video of Joan Laporta and a young girl, unidentified at the time, was doing the rounds on social media. In the clip, Laporta is seen posing for a picture with the girl before asking her to "call him when she turns 18." Soon after making the distasteful remark, Laporta appeared to let out a grin under his mask. 

ALSO READ: Solskjaer Becomes Only Manager To Win Thrice In A Row Away Against Guardiola's Man City

A number of netizens were quick to highlight Laporta's comments towards the young girl, sparking further chaos at Barcelona on the crunch election day. At the time, Laporta was a clear favourite to win the elections but the video stirred controversy among football fans. However, the girl in the video — who identified herself as Marta — later took to Twitter and clarified that Laporta was simply sharing a joke with her. 

On Twitter, Barcelona fan Marta wrote, "Hello everyone I'm the girl in the video with Joan Laporta. The 'girl' is 30 years old. He made a joke of me because my aunt always calls me 'girl' and asked her for a photo for the 'girl'. Long live Barça." However, despite Marta's clarification over the incident, a small portion of Barcelona fans was still furious as Laporta's joke came at a time when Barcelona were in crisis. One wrote, "This is not the time to crack jokes at Barcelona, we're in a crisis." Another added, "Laporta better get his act together. He can't be joking with someone while the media are present." 

However, some fans pointed out that the video that surfaced on the day of the Barcelona elections might have been an attempt to stop Laporta from winning the poll. One Barcelona fan wrote, "This video just popped up on the day of the elections. It might have been from long ago and it was clear that Laporta was joking. I'm sure this was released in a bid to sabotage his chances of winning."

Barcelona election result: Barcelona new president Joan Laporta outlines target to keep Lionel Messi

Laporta beat his counterparts Victor Font and Toni Freixa to win the Barcelona presidential elections. Laporta received a total of 30,184 votes, while Font came in second with 16,679. This will be Laporta's second spell as Barcelona president as he was previously appointed as chief of the Catalan club in 2003, finishing his term in the year 2010. 

ALSO READ: Steven Gerrard's Rangers Halt Celtic's 9 League Wins In A Row To Win Scottish Premiership

While speaking to reporters after his comfortable victory, Laporta hinted that Messi might still opt to stay put at the Camp Nou. The Argentine's contract expires in the summer but Laporta said, "The fact that the best player in the world came to vote today, along with his son, is proof that Leo Messi loves Barça. Messi wants Barça, the best player in the world wants Barça and that is very significant. We are going to encourage him to continue at FC Barcelona, which is what we all want."

ALSO READ: Yuvraj Singh, Monty Panesar Get Into Verbal WAR On Twitter After Man United Beats Man City

Image Credits - Joan Laporta Twitter